Idle banter forum

The Guardian has put together an especially odd list of 50 eateries.
It is a very Euro-centric collection, but one really caught my eye:
"5. Best place to eat: Pho
Pho 24, Vietnam
...However, the sleek chain restaurant Pho 24, with branches around the country and across Asia, produces Vietnam's most reliably good pho. The meat is of a consistently high quality – a rarity in Vietnam – and the stock impresses even the hardest-to-please critics."
Phi24 is fine for a tourist friend b ...

Hi all,
Our plans to backpack round SE Asia (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia) as a group of 4 have changed as we have added one more person to our itinerary.
Is 5 people too large a group to travel as? We are worried that it will make finding accommodation and transport etc problematic...
Cheers! ...

The verdict is in. Clearly, Stuart doesn’t want me to contribute. Sobeit.
However, let me have my final say - assuming, of course, that Stuart allows same.
Unlike my responses to those seeking info, this is a measured statement. I canvas three issues: the substantive matter (leading to Stuart’s decision), the sycophants, and the future.
- - -
The substantive matter
To my way of thinking, the substantive issue involves arbitrary and subjective decision-making. I challenged ...

Hey,
just left Beijing, it was a great place andcould easily have spent months there! I have it on good authorty that I won't be ableto extend
my visa because it's too near the national
day here...
For those that didn't know I had planned to crosss by land into Laos after 2 months in china then head to Malaysia after that. I was thinking I could probably get a flight to Malaysia or Thailand wire easily with airasia from
Guilin. If I went to Thailand I couldstill cross the borderinto Lao ...

Why is there censorship on Travelfish?
There are a couple of 'issues' that Stuart/somtam has indicated are 'off limits'. The ramifications on one have been widely canvassed in the SE Asian media.
On the other, when contributors get abusive, somtam deletes part or all of the post.
Usually, a 'trace' has been left by somtam indicating the improper or abusive post/section has been deleted/removed.
But, recently censorship of a different kind has me baffled.
On another post...
...

i don´t know if there are any german speakers on travelfish... but if there are here´s the link to my travel blog: http://www.globalzoo.de/dermitdemlichtmalt/blog.php
for all others there are at least some pictures ;-)
i´m in tokyo at the moment but will be heading to bangkok on friday. and it´s 6 weeks of vietnam, laos and cambodia afterwards. ...

Hey everyone
My SEA journey kicks off in a couple weeks. I've spent hours upon hours on this fantastic site--its been an invaluable resource.
So here's my question. What are the BEST places to stay in SE Asia? I'm not asking for a couple decent places here and there, no, which little Thai guesthouse blew you away, so much that you remember the name of caretaker 10 years later?
There are plenty of five star accommodations all over the place, but you can't buy character.
What's your ...

I will be relocating to Ubon soon and was wondering if Mukdahan(sp)has a Thai immigration office where I can do my 90 day report. If they do, tell me of a good guesthouse and BAR. :) Thanks in advance for any information. ...

after afew months loitering on this forum i'm actually setting off tomorrow! i might even be able to give some good Laos/Malaysia input once i'm done with China
I hope all will go well, i'm experiencing some pre-trip nerves but the Johnnie Walker on the rocks has helped
Thanks
Chris ...

Yep, the newer look for the forum pages - with the "Do try a search before posting a new question..." 'box' above the posts, and the 'other' forum links to the left - is IMHO a good enhancement.
My only suggestion is - could the term "Do try a search before posting a new question..." be in a strong colour and also bold to really attract attention?
Cheers ...

No, the topic has no reference to me or indiscretions (I'm past that)...
Rather, it's a term increasingly being used by accommodation providers where I live (Australia), and I was wondering whether the idea is taking hold in SE Asia.
To quote from my local rag...
Not so many moons ago, honeymoons were the only moons in the travel industry dialogue. These days you can book a "conceptionmoon" ((a stress-busting break for couples trying for a baby), a "familymoon" (a honeymoon for the 'bl ...

My flight into Bangkok lands around 11pm, and I was wondering if people would suggest 'winging it' the first night, or actually getting something booked up for the first night as we're getting in a little late. Young couple, looong flight from Canada -> Bangkok but usually energetic. hah. Thanks for any advise you can give!
-Happy travels! ...

Between 1 or 2 weeks ago, a group was going around to the bars claiming to be looking for music downloads. Very agressive, confiscating computers, and charging several thousand baht to get them back. A few days later the real police came around and said the others were "fake" police. Last night another smaller group came around checking again. Most of the bar owners had wised up and told them to go somewhere. While this doesn't directly affect us westerners, it has caused entertainment to be a l ...

On another link ( here ), we learn that on some days - esp. Sunday's - Somtam2000 isn't!!!
Instead, there is a clandestine operator assuming the mantle of Somtam2000!!!
Despite requests to uncover the mask, the imposter remains in hiding.
The question that follows is who is this other Stuart? What are his/her characteristics? And, will there now be some form of competition to be top dog somtam2000?
Cheers ...

So a friend of mine is here visiting, and I thought I'd take him up the mountain in Kamcha-i. Big mistake. Last time I climbed that mountain, it was the dry season, and it was easy going up the "path". This time, it was overgrown, and my Thai friends turned back quickly. I was passing a rock and a HUGE bee (or wasp) came flying out of a hole in the rock and stung me - just a quick hit. He didn't land. The he hovered in front of my face as if to taunt me. We went another three hundred meters or ...

Hey all,
New to this site and what a site it is! Off to India/SE Asia in a couple of weeks, and want to get a blog up and running before I leave.
Can anyone recommend the best sites to do this on? I want everyone I know to be able to comment easily, without having to sign up to anything...
Cheers in advance! ...

You asked for jibber jabber so here it is.
start of jibber
I reckon you should all go out and do a bit more travelling and a little less planning.
Travel is about the adventure, the wind in the hair and the floodwaters in the socks.
No travel site will tell you everything and most tell you near nothing.
Get out there, travel, drink and fornicate.
Thats what it is all about.
end of jabber ...

I’ve returned from a week away. Unlike Stuart, I let my electronics to go rest while I’m away. From the responses on my original ‘Robust dialogue’ post, several have had their little dummy spit. I also note that Stuart ‘locked’ the post some 4 days ago.
From some of the content, it appears passion has over-ruled logic. And, I’d like to present my view in greater detail to afford clarity.
- - -
One of the attributes of communication is that when reading language, mo ...

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